Property Crime Research Articles

Do sanctuary policies increase crime? Contrary evidence from a county-level investigation in the United States

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has rolled out a series of programs that leverage local and state resources to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. There is little understanding, however, about the public safety consequences of mobilizing local police to enforce immigration law. I use ICE administrative records, Uniform Crime Reports, and American Community Survey population estimates to investigate whether and under what circumstances local immigration enforcement is associated with property crime and violent crime. Results show that crime trends in sanctuary and non-sanctuary counties were not significantly different in the first decade of the 2000s. However, after the proliferation of sanctuary practices around 2014, both property crime and violent crime decreased more in sanctuary counties than non-sanctuary counties, net of other predictors of crime. Further, a pooled cross-sectional analysis of 2013–2016 data shows that sanctuary practices strengthen the inverse relationship between proportion foreign-born Latino and property crime, and reverse the positive relationship between proportion native-born Latino and property crime. I theorize that this occurs because sanctuary practices encourage immigrant political integration, have positive spillover effects to non-immigrant Latinx communities, and increase social harmony.

Influence of Trust for the Police in Gilgil Ward on Reporting of Property Crime by Victims in Gilgil Ward, Nakuru County, Kenya

The increase in property crime has been the main issue affecting the nation's security and economic growth. The rise in property crimes is sometimes associated with the reluctance of victims to report a crime. Hence, encouraging criminals to continue with criminal activities. In Gilgil Ward, property crimes have topped the list of crimes in the area. However, a low percentage of the reported crimes are property crimes. It is unclear why victims are not reporting property crimes, yet crimes are supposed to be reported to the police for action. Hence, the study aimed at establishing the influence of trust for the police in Gilgil Ward on reporting of property crime by victims in Gilgil Ward, Nakuru County, Kenya. The study used a mixed-method research design. The researcher used questionnaires and interview schedules as research instruments for the research study. The target population were the property crime victims, who had reported a crime to the police. The research study sample size was ninety-six (96). Stratified random sampling, purposive sampling, and snowballing sampling was used when selecting the respondents. Descriptive statistics was used in the data analysis. Descriptive statistics entailed the use of frequency distribution tables and percentages to summarize data on closed-ended items in the questionnaires. Data obtained from open-ended items in the questionnaire was categorized according to themes relevant to the study and was thematically analyzed. Findings from the study indicate that the level of trust for the police was at a “low level” with a mean of 1.19. However, majority of the respondents; 71.4%, 73.1%, 71.0%, and 75.3% indicated they were not influenced by trust in their decision to report property crime to the police, for robbery, burglary, housebreaking, and theft crimes respectively. This study recommends that, residents of Gilgil Ward should be enlightened on the role/importance of reporting property crime to the police so as to motivate proper policing. Also, the study recommends that, regular in-service training that covers both soft skills and technical skills, to be enforced to improve the police efficiency thus, increasing the level of trust for the police. Besides, the study recommends regular patrols to be conducted in Gilgil Ward to deter and/or arrest criminals.

APPLICATION OF CONFISCATION OF PROPERTY AS A NON-INSTITUTIONAL FORM OF RESPONSE TO PROPERTY CRIME

In modern crime, in addition to economic and corruption crime, a large share is occupied by property (economic) crime. It includes various forms of criminal acts of natural and legal persons that are directed to the property of another natural or legal person, which causes them property damage. In addition, these property crimes are committed by the perpetrators with the intention of obtaining illegal property gain or out of self-interest. Such characteristics of property crime indicate the type, nature and character of measures of social reaction. Among these non-institutional measures, property fines stand out. These are: a) a fine and b) confiscation of property. They directly confiscate a certain part of the property (property rights) of the perpetrators of these crimes. This paper discusses the specific characteristics of the penalty of confiscation of property in domestic and foreign criminal law.

Gender equality and the shifting gap in female‐to‐male prison admission rates*

AbstractAlthough women have made dramatic gains toward equality with men over the past century, this progress has occurred alongside tremendous growth in U.S. incarceration rates. Extending prior research on sex differences in offending, we turn our attention to punishment by exploring how gender equality in education, work, and politics is associated with disparities in annual prison admissions. Using pooled cross‐sectional data for U.S. states from 1983 to 2010, we conduct a series of fixed‐effects regressions to estimate the ratio of female‐to‐male annual prison admission rates, as well as sex‐specific rates, disaggregated by violent, property, and drug crimes. We find partial support for the ameliorative hypothesis, which predicts that increasing gender equality will decrease female incarceration rates relative to male rates. For one of our three measures of gender equality—the sex gap in educational attainment—we find that greater equality is associated with a widening of the sex gap in incarceration rates, particularly for property offenses. We explore the implications of these findings in relation to existing theories of gender, crime, and punishment.

Neighborhood crime and infant health

We study the effect of maternal exposure to neighborhood crime during pregnancy on birth outcomes, using geographically detailed data for the city of Detroit. Exposure to homicides has deleterious effects on birth weight particularly at the lower end of the distribution. These effects are localized and weaken when homicides farther away from a mother’s neighborhood are considered. However, we find no discernible impacts of other serious violent or property crimes on infant health. Exposure to two or more homicides has the potential to wipe away positive effects of governmental welfare programs for pregnant women.

사업 전후 설문을 통한 전통시장 CPTED 적용의 효과 분석

This study was conducted to explore implications for CPTED application in the future and to analyze crime prevention effect through analysis of the current status and questionnaire data of CPTED projects in traditional markets The spatial scope of this study was a traditional market located in the original downtown of four cities (Incheon, Paju, Cheongju, and Suncheon), and the content of this study was survey data analysis conducted before and after the CPTED project. As a result of analyzing the current satisfaction and necessity of improvement of the crime prevention environment before the project, items with low satisfaction and high necessity for improvement were lighting brightness, legibility of facilities (CCTV, emergency bells, information signs), and maintenance of garbage and neglected environments. The results of analyzing the perception of crime safety are as follows.: 1) Before the project, the percentage of people who thought a crime was serious was 28.0% and the percentage of people who thought safety about crime was 26.0% in four markets. However, after the project, the percentage of serious consideration of crime decreased significantly to 5.0%, and the percentage of safe consideration rose to 70.1% on average. 2) The effect of reducing the crime problem was also confirmed by comparing the fear of types of crimes (night crimes, night crimes, interpersonal crimes, property crimes, and location crimes) conducted before and after the project. 3) The cause of fear of crime differed before and after the project. The expansion of crime prevention facilities (safe lighting, CCTV, emergency bell installation, and legibility reinforcement) was mainly carried out in four markets. Therefore, the cause of fear of crime after the project was found to be related to structural problems such as 'not seen around, few people, and little use', or changes in the use of spaces and facilities. This can be said to be a characteristic of the CPTED project conducted in the short term within a limited range (such as budget). In order to create a crime prevention environment in the traditional market in the future, the following items are considered necessary. In the short term, the CPTED principle that increases the legibility of crime prevention facilities installed around external spaces can be helpful. This inference is also linked to the highest satisfaction of survey respondents and the highest expected effect on crime prevention for enhancing the legibility of CCTVs, emergency bells, and information signs installed in each market. However, in order for these contents to continue the crime prevention effect, maintenance must be accompanied over time. Therefore, from a mid- to long-term perspective, it is thought that the CPTED principle that increases the internal and external utilization of the space, such as the use of empty stores or the improvement of blind spots, should be accompanied.

Does Stop and Search Reduce Crime? Evidence from Street-Level Data and a Surge in Operations Following a High-Profile Crime

Abstract This paper uses a surge in stop and search operations following a high-profile murder to look at their effect on recorded crime. Difference-in-difference estimates using detailed geocoded data at the street-level suggest a doubling to trebling of the number of searches in streets close to the place of the murder. IV estimates on the effects of stops and searches on crime suggest little effect on property crime, weapons offences and violent crime or drug offences. Some specifications find reductions in anti-social behaviour, suggesting that any effects on crime are due to an increased police presence on the streets.

Community Characteristics and the Geographic Distribution of Intimate Partner Violence: A Partial Test of Social Disorganization Theory.

Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory has provided a framework to examine the relationship between community-level structural variables and neighborhood crime. Although empirical support for the theory has been widely demonstrated using property and violent crime data, the body of literature examining the theory's applicability to intimate partner violence (IPV) is more limited. Further, much of the existing literature in this area applies the theory's macro-level variables to individual outcomes instead of assessing community effects. Using negative binomial regression to analyze incident data from the Austin (TX) Police Department and demographic information from the United States Census Bureau, this study assesses the relationship between concentrated disadvantage, racial/ethnic heterogeneity, residential instability, and the geographic distribution of IPV incidents in a major U.S. city with no racial or ethnic majority. The independent variables of interest were constructed using principal axis factoring, and a spatial lag variable was included in the model to control for spatial clustering. The analysis showed that concentrated disadvantage was significantly, positively associated with annual counts of IPV incidents in neighborhoods, as was the control variable total crime reports. These results demonstrate that the geographic distribution of IPV is influenced by community factors. They underscore the importance of considering community-wide prevention and intervention efforts in tandem with individual services to those impacted by IPV.

How Safe Is Life on the Road? Criminal Victimization Among a Sample of U.S. Nomads and the #VanLife Community

The current study provides the first estimates of criminal victimization prevalence among Nomads and members of the VanLife community. People who live and travel in manufactured recreational vehicles, retrofitted vans or buses, and cars are a heterogenous group who face an unknown risk of life on the road. Analyses reveal high victimization prevalence rates. Guided by lifestyle-routine activities theories, regression analyses reveal that gender, Latino ethnicity, income, and education affect risk of rape, aggravated assault, physical threats, property crime, aggravated property crime, and financial identity theft. Disaggregated analyses highlight those demographics that impact victimization risk for year-round Nomads versus part-timers. Questions about the lifestyles-routine activities of Nomads emerge from the analyses and directions for future research are offered.

Uncertainty and heuristics in offender decision-making: Deviations from rational choice

PurposeUsing perspectives from prospect theory and behavioral economics, we explore examples of offender decision-making that appear inconsistent with rational choice and expected utility theories. MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 200 adult offenders with three or more convictions for predatory property or street crime (theft, burglary, and/or robbery). Subjects were asked to describe situations in which they had encountered crime prevention or control measures, and their relevant responses. Specific questions focused on how offenders assessed the effort, risk, and reward involved. Thematic analysis was employed to identify deviations from rational choice perspectives. ResultsOffenders, particularly abusers of drugs and/or alcohol, often held distorted perceptions of effort, risk, and reward. Cognitive biases and heuristics influenced logic and many offenders were guided by their intuition, even to the point of superstition. Some had dual motivations (“needs” and “wants”) that resulted in a nonlinear relationship between value and utility. ConclusionsRational choice and expected utility theories do not adequately explain offender decision-making, particularly when drug addiction is involved. Effective crime prevention and control strategies require a more comprehensive understanding of how offenders evaluate costs and benefits, and make situational offending decisions.

Employment Opportunities for Applicants with Cybercrime Records: A Field Experiment

Various studies have shown that convicted offenders often face difficulties in finding employment. These studies, however, only examined traditional types of crime and little is known about the job opportunities of convicted cybercrime offenders. Therefore, this study examines the influences of being convicted for a cybercrime on labour market chances in the IT sector in the Netherlands. An experiment was conducted in which fictitious job applications were sent to existing job openings between March and June 2021 ( N = 300), varying for type of crime (cybercrime, property crime, no offence) and ethnic background (Dutch or Turkish). In order to test the hypotheses, logistic regression analyses were carried out to test whether differences in responses were significant. No significant differences in positive responses were found between cybercrime offenders and non-offenders, implying that cybercrime offenders do not have less labour market opportunities. Moreover, significant differences were found between Dutch and Turkish applicants. The results of this study indicate that results from previous studies on job opportunities of traditional offenders are not generalisable to cybercrime offenders. Possibly, a cybercrime record gives a positive signal of IT-skills that are useful for employees, while a criminal record for a property crime is associated with negative characteristics.

PROPERTY CRIME INCIDENCE AND PATTERNS IN MALAYSIA FROM 2007 TO 2017

Crime is a social problem faced by all communities and ranges from property loss or damage to violent events such as murder and robbery. Crime trends are associated with many factors including mental health, unemployment rates, educational status and policing strategies. In this article, we provide property crime datasets for Malaysia from 2007 to 2017. The data were gathered from all reported cases at district police stations and contingent (state and federal territory levels) headquarters. This information was extracted from the Malaysian Police Reporting System (PRS) and divided into five categories; theft, car theft, motorcycle theft, van/lorry/heavy machinery theft and housebreaking. Overall, there were 1,361,320 property crime cases were reported from 2007 to 2017. Theft and motorcycle theft were observed to be the most common types of property crime in Malaysia. In general, property crime cases continue to decline from 163,317 cases in 2007 to only 77,562 in 2017 due to government initiatives and a proactive policing policy. The same downward trend in overall property crime was also observed at state and federal territory levels and is mainly due to a drop in the volume of theft and motorcycle theft cases.

The Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Neighborhood Crime on Neonatal Functional Connectivity

BackgroundMaternal exposure to adversity during pregnancy has been found to affect infant brain development; however, the specific effect of prenatal crime exposure on neonatal brain connectivity remains unclear. Based on existing research, we hypothesized that living in a high-crime neighborhood during pregnancy would affect neonatal frontolimbic connectivity over and above other individual- and neighborhood-level adversity and that these associations would be mediated by maternal psychosocial stress. MethodsParticipants included 399 pregnant women, recruited as part of the eLABE (Early Life Adversity, Biological Embedding, and Risk for Developmental Precursors of Mental Disorders) study. In the neonatal period, 319 healthy, nonsedated infants were scanned using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (repetition time = 800 ms; echo time = 37 ms; voxel size = 2.0 × 2.0 × 2.0 mm3; multiband = 8) on a Prisma 3T scanner and had at least 10 minutes of high-quality data. Crime data at the block group level were obtained from Applied Geographic Solution. Linear regressions and mediation models tested associations between crime, frontolimbic connectivity, and psychosocial stress. ResultsLiving in a neighborhood with high property crime during pregnancy was related to weaker neonatal functional connectivity between the thalamus–anterior default mode network (aDMN) (β = −0.15, 95% CI = −0.25 to −0.04, p = .008). Similarly, high neighborhood violent crime was related to weaker functional connectivity between the thalamus-aDMN (β = −0.16, 95% CI = −0.29 to −0.04, p = .01) and amygdala-hippocampus (β = −0.16, 95% CI = −0.29 to −0.03, p = .02), controlling for other types of adversity. Psychosocial stress partially mediated relationships between the thalamus-aDMN and both violent and property crime. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that prenatal exposure to crime is associated with weaker neonatal limbic and frontal functional brain connections, providing another reason for targeted public policy interventions to reduce crime.

The impact and policy relevance of street lighting for crime prevention: A systematic review based on a half‐century of evaluation research

AbstractResearch SummaryThis article reports on an updated systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effects of street lighting interventions on crime in public places. Following Campbell Collaboration guidelines, it uses robust criteria for inclusion of studies, comprehensive search strategies to identify eligible studies, a detailed protocol for coding key study characteristics, and rigorous methods for analyzing studies. A total of 21 studies met the inclusion criteria, originating in four countries (United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Korea) and covering almost 50 years (1974–2021). The review finds that street lighting interventions are associated with a significant desirable effect on total crime (14% reduction in treatment areas compared with comparable control areas); desirable effects are greater in studies that measured both night and day crimes than in studies that only measured night crimes; and street lighting is followed by a significant reduction in property crimes, but not in violent crimes.Policy ImplicationsCompared to past years, it would seem that an even stronger case can be made today for street lighting interventions to be part of crime‐prevention policy. A larger body of high‐quality evaluation research, implemented in a range of high‐crime public places, some evidence of value for money, and a continued desirable impact on crime, especially property crime, all point to the policy relevance of street lighting interventions.

The Role of International Community in The Management of Covid-19: The Lessons, Impact and Crime analysis

A few weeks into the year 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic radically altered the nature of social interactions and economic activity in all regions across the globe. By the first week of April 2020, 3.9 billion people – more than half the worldwide population – were under some form of lockdown. Since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IMF increased admittance to emergency funding amenities and delivered about $11 billion in emergency funding to a plethora of African countries including Ghana. This was to salvage the economic crisis that these countries were facing. However, this helped only temporarily and thus, people living in poverty, especially in Ghana started becoming apprehensive. In essence, this study looks at the role of the international community in the management of covid-19 in Ghana. It also briefly examines the effect of the pandemic on property crime. The research is supported by various schorlarly perspectives and a thorough examination of practical and theoretical knowledge in order to contribute to the existing body of literature. The observational research method was used in this reading, and empirical statistics was gathered from public and private sector authorities. The work was qualitatively infused and relied on rudimentary statistics (frequency and percentages). The data was gathered from both primary and secondary sources. The study found that more males were involved in the fight against the pandemic, and the lockdown was managed well. It also established that a global central database was used in creating awareness of the pandemic and that despite the support from the international community, deaths from the pandemic prevailed. Increased participation of and collaboration among stakeholders at the local authority was recommended.

Who Leaves and Who Enters? Flow Measures of Neighborhood Change and Consequences for Neighborhood Crime

Objectives Longitudinal studies of the relationship between neighborhood change and changes in crime typically focus exclusively on the net level of change in key socio-demographic characteristics. Methods We instead propose a demographic accounting strategy that captures the composition of neighborhood change: our measures capture which types of people are more likely to leave, stay, or enter the neighborhood. We use data for 3,325 tracts in the Southern California region over nearly two decades of 2000–2010 and 2010–2017 and construct flow measures based on race/ethnicity; the length of residence of owners and renters; the age structure. Results These flow measures improve the predictive power of the models—implying important theoretical insights. Neighborhoods with higher percentages of middle-aged residents who recently entered the neighborhood exhibit larger increases in violent and property crime. The relative stability of those in the highest crime-prone ages (aged 15–29) is associated with the largest increases in violent and property crime. The greater loss of Black and Asian residents decreased crime while moderate outflows of Latinos increased crime. The mobility of long- and short-term renters was related to crime changes. Conclusions This new technique will likely encourage further theoretical innovation for the neighborhoods and crime literature.

Ответственность за хищение безналичных денежных средств и цифровой валюты в странах англосаксонской и континентальной системы права

The domestic legislator improves the criminal law norms based on, among other things, foreign experience. In this regard, the author considers the approaches of foreign countries to the definition of the subject of property crimes in general and its «digital variants» in particular. The approaches of some foreign countries (Great Britain, USA, Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Poland) to the establishment of criminal liability for the theft of non-cash funds and digital currency are analyzed.
 Based on the analysis, the author concludes that in the legislation of foreign states of the Anglo-Saxon and Romano-Germanic systems, the subject of property crimes is defined through the category of «property». In England and the USA, property in general (including non-cash funds and cryptocurrency) can be the subject of any property crimes. In the countries of the continental system (in particular, in the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, France), within this group of crimes, a subgroup of criminal acts that encroach only on things (for example, theft) is distinguished. It seems that in the domestic criminal law it is also necessary to single out a group of property crimes, which will include crimes against property. Accordingly, in order to solve the problem of the inconsistency of the title of Chapter 21 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with its content, since the norms of this chapter protect not only objects of property rights (in particular, property rights), but also property rights (claim rights, etc.) that make up the content of obligations relations . It is proposed to clarify the title of Chapter 21 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, heading it «Property Crimes» (taking into account the studied foreign experience). Thus, non-cash funds, which are not things and which are subject to the civil law regime of property rights, are more logical to recognize as the subject of 2property crimes», and not crimes against property.

Property crime and private protection allocation within cities: Theory and evidence

AbstractCanada exhibits no correlation between income and victimization, rich neighborhoods are less exposed to property crime, rich households are more victimized than their neighbors, and rich households and neighborhoods invest more in protection. We provide a theory consistent with these facts. Criminals within city choose a neighborhood and pay a search cost to compare potential victims, whereas households invest in self‐protection. As criminals' return to search increases with neighborhood income, households in rich neighborhoods are likelier to enter a race to greater protection driving criminals toward poorer areas. A calibration reproduces the Canadian victimization and protection pattern by household/neighborhood income.

Crime Pattern Analysis and Hot Spot Analysis in Bishnupur District of Manipur

Manipur a northeastern state of India reported increasing crime rate as per NCRB records. Crime mapping using GIS environment in India is in budding stage and it is almost nil in the state of Manipur. Mapping different categories of crime/ criminal activity for pattern analysis and hotspot analysis is being done in the Bishnupur District of Manipur. There are alto-gather seven police stations in this district. Present study is dealing with spatial analysis of criminal activities for five years (2016–2020) using Spatial Statistics tool and hotspot analysis (Getis-ord Gi*). Mapping of crime location(point mapping), density map and hotspot analysis map are carried out using ArcGIS. Statistical database of criminal activities were taken up, involving different nature of crime which are categorized as property crime, suicide, crime against women, terrorist act. Date, time and location are also considered for this study. The result of the study shows spatial concentration of criminal activities like property crime records the highest in Nambol, Manipur. Jurisdiction under Nambol Police Station recorded the highest number of crime as compare to other police stations of the district during this period. And that Keibul Lamjao Police Station recorded the lowest number of criminal activities. Crime pattern analysis is definitely going help in improving our understanding of the dynamics of unlawful activities and can enhance prediction policing. Policy makers of police department will be benefited from complex maps of criminal activities in Tactical crime analysis.

How bad is crime for business? Evidence from consumer behavior

Understanding how consumers respond to crime offers evidence of how safety perception impacts individuals daily choices and has important implications for economic development of communities. This paper investigates the impact of local crime on subsequent consumer visits to food and entertainment retails using a novel longitudinal dataset with point-specific crime and consumer visit data. We leverage the richness of our data to account for unobserved heterogeneity and time variant confounders through temporal and geographical variation. Our results show that consumers respond more strongly to property and street crimes. The response concentrates on the venue visit decision rather than the intensity of consumption (i.e. duration) in the venue.